OHIO RIVER TRAIL COUNCIL

Bicycles are almost as good as guitars for meeting girls. 

—Bob Weir, Grateful Dead

Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There's something wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym. 

—Bill Nye, The Science Guy

Next to a leisurely walk, I enjoy a spin on my tandem bicycle. It is splendid to feel the wind blowing in my face and the springy motion of my iron steed. The rapid rush through the air gives me a delicious sense of strength and buoyancy, and the exercise makes my pulse dance and my heart sing.

—Helen Keller

Too often, the advocates of trails and linear parks along rights-of-way come up against officials who recognize only one kind of park–the squared-off kind that comes in chunks; and one kind of recreation–the supervised kind known as ‘organized sweating.’ Such officials refuse to acknowledge that there has been a change in US recreation trends, reflected in the phenomenal growth of hiking, biking, and horseback riding… 

—Constance Stallings

[A] key factor in the development and planning of most trails is local, grassroots efforts: that is, the citizens who drive the local, state, and federal government to act. Everything from establishing the vision and need for greenways to defining specific trail corridors, to participating in the zoning process, to forming citizen coalitions, to developing guidelines for trail use and access should be within the abilities of each citizen. With broad-based support, the vision of a national system of trails can be realized. 

— American Trails, Trails for All Americans report, 1990

Americans are seeking trail opportunities as never before. No longer are trails only for the ‘rugged individualists’ pursuing a solitary trek through breathtaking wilderness … users include young people and senior citizens, families, individuals and organized groups, people with disabilities and the physically fit. 

—American Trails, Trails for All Americans report, 1990

…. the bicycle boom is not a fad. It comes at (or is symptomatic of) a time when traffic jams are intolerable to commuters, heart disease kills too many sedentary executives, the population grows ever more pollution-aware and ecology-minded, and millions of people are looking to the simple pleasures of life. 

—Steve Sherman, Bike Hiking, 1974

The world lies right beyond the handlebars of any bicycle. 

—Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles; The Memoirs of an Autophobe, 1973

Without question, bicycling is an efficient, economical and environmentally sound form of transportation and recreation. Bicycling is a great activity for families, recreational riders and commuters. Hillary, Chelsea and I have bicycles…. 

—William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United State (Bicycling Magazine, 1992)

You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a bicycle and that’s pretty close.

—Unknown